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The wave motion gun (波動砲 ha dō hō) or Yamato gun/weapon is a science fiction concept of an extremely powerful weapon which, after being fired, requires considerable time to recharge while leaving its user powerless and vulnerable.

The term specifically came from the anime series Space Battleship Yamato, where the wave motion gun was one of the most visible features on the Yamato battleship (renamed Argo in the American dub, Star Blazers) and many other capital ships, particularly the flagship Andromeda in the second season (which was equipped with two Wave Motion Guns). It worked by redirecting tachyon energy from the ship's main engine (the "Wave Motion Engine") through the opening at the ship's bow. A trigger-like mechanism in the bridge was used to activate it when aiming and charging were complete. It could deal devastating damage with a single blast, but required all non-essential power systems to be deactivated beforehand and left the ship adrift and unable to defend itself for a short time thereafter.

Examples of similar weapons include:

• The main cannon of the title ship in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime series (renamed the Reflex Cannon in the Robotech adaptation). When the ship's space fold drive vanished, the main cannon could only be connected up and fired when the Macross underwent modular transformation into a form that happened to resemble a giant humanoid robot.
• The deflector dish mounted on the Enterprise-D was used in "wave motion gun" fashion in the two-part Star Trek: The Next Generation episode The Best of Both Worlds.
• The Macross Cannon of the ship Battle 7 in the anime Macross 7, which gained its name from the above example.
• The Yamato Gun of the Terran Battlecruiser in StarCraft and StarCraft II (likely named such as a reference to Space Battleship Yamato).
• The Siege Cannon of the Somtaaw command ship Kuun-lan in Homeworld: Cataclysm.
• The forward guns of the IAS Excalibur from Babylon 5 Crusade, fired at full power, are capable of destroying anything in its path. However, this weapon drains all the ship's power and leaves the ship vulnerable for about one minute until power can be restored.
• The Wave Motion Gun was used by Megas in Megas XLR (as well as quite a bit of the ship's bow).
• The ships of R-Type carry what are known as "Wave Cannons." In the case of many of them, they are highly destructive, just like the original Wave Motion Gun, and require charging as well. However, the recharge sequence which was the downfall of the Yamato is not as severe, just part of the normal firing sequence for the R-Type fighters. Unfortunately, this charge-up sequence tends to be longer with more powerful Wave Cannons and on the long side for most combat situations, and without the supplementary Force Device around the craft, the fighter must rely on maneuverability and a single comparatively weak gun until the Cannon can be used. They are also extremely diverse, the ones most resembling the Wave Motion Gun probably being the R-9D and R-9DH series of craft in R-Type Final, emitting a long, straight beam of light.
• A recurring weapon in the Space Empires series, usually the strongest weapon available to all races.
• A series of Wave Guns appear as massive spinal weapons in the Naval Ops/Warship Gunner series of games by Koei, and function much the same as the Wave Motion Gun.
• The Delphinus' main gun in the game Skies of Arcadia exhibits a similar firing envelope to the Wave Motion Gun.
• A similar gun is used in the game Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner called the 'Vector Cannon'.
• Although not fitting all the qualities of the Wave Motion Gun, the Death Star's superlaser in Star Wars is certainly within the power level of such a gun. Expanded Universe sources indicate that the original Death Star required a full day to recharge its superlaser after firing.
• Also in the Star Wars expanded universe is a miniaturized superlaser installed in the bow of the Errant Venture functioned in a very similar manner during the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion.
• The Guyver Gigantic, despite its near-human size, sports a plasma beam weapon dubbed the Giga-Smasher. The beam's range, width, and destructive capability are a fair match for the Macross's main cannon.
• The Blue Typhoon's Sonic Driver in Sonic X has some characteristics of a wave motion gun, such as the need to redirect all energy to it when it fires. However, the ship can apparently replenish itself instantly after firing, and the gun usually fires a solid projectile (Sonic), which would also qualify it as a mass driver.
• In the Command & Conquer series, the Global Defence Initiative's Merlin Personal Ion Cannon, a miniature Godsend orbital cannon mounted on a trigger mechanism, which bursts vehicles and vaporizes infantry in a single shot, also, the full-scale Orbital Ion Cannon, which has a five minute recharge time.
• In Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Imperium's Plasma Destructor is an extremely powerful and temperamental plasma cannon, which is criticized for its inability to keep up with the demands of a long battle. It can blast through any armor and requires a lot of energy, which it apparently runs out of early on.
• In the anime series Nadesico, the main gun on the Space Battleship Nadesico is in a group of weapons referred to as a "Gravity Gun". Basically the same idea as the Wave Motion Gun - A limited number of shots requiring a recharge time. Interestingly, one ship in this anime has a "revolver" like Gravity Gun, allowing it to fire one of it's guns while the others are recharging, thus allowing almost seemingly continuous fire from one gun.
• The Protoss Pheonix class vessel from StarCraft II has a weapon that destroys a great ammount of units, and "stuns" the vehicle using it. The Mothership from the same game has a weapon called the "Planet Cracker" which destroys everything below.
• The primary weapon of the alien daughterships from the movie independence day might also qualify as powerful wave guns.

External references

• Toy of the Yamato which features the wave motion gun
• Fanpage explaining the Wave Motion Gun

• Science fiction weapons
• Space Battleship Yamato